Topic : Analysis of ‘’ The Jungle Book ‘’ by

Rudyard Kipling and movies ‘’ The legend of

The Jungle ‘’ and Hindi Dubbed version
 The Jungle Book

Introduction :
About the author :
Rudyard Kipling did not see himself as many
literary critics see him today , primarily as a writer about empire .
Instead as his memoir Some thing of Myself (1937) suggests he viewed
himself as a writer pure and simple – a craftsman in that down –to- earth sense in which
writers are apt to refer to themselves . Although Kipling lived in India and was exposed to its
cultures, he made himself the interpreter, propagandist, and chief apologist of the imperialist
elite. Kipling was suspicious of democracy and of the members of the British Liberal
Intelligentsia who opposed imperialism as a philosophy. He saw World War I as a threat not
only to Britain itself but to her civilizing mission.
Kipling’s writing embodies an attitude toward that work
that places its satisfactory completion above convenience, desire, and comfort in the scheme of
things. This attitude toward work and duty is also characteristic of modern science fiction. It
places men and women in the role of creators and maintainers, rather than victims. It prefers
exploring the intricacies of the craftsman’s vision to indulging the subtleties of the narrative
voice. Kipling's works of fiction include The Jungle Book (1894), Kim (1901), and many short
stories, including The Man Who Would Be King (1888). His poems include Mandalay (1890),
Gunga Din (1890), The Gods of the Copybook Headings (1919), The White Man's Burden (1899),
and If— (1910). He is regarded as a major innovator in the art of the short story; his children's
books are classics of children's literature; and one critic described his work as exhibiting "a
versatile and luminous narrative gift".

The story
A wolf family finds a young boy wandering in the jungle and adopts him, giving him
the name Mowgli. He becomes part of the wolf pack, and Baloo, the old bear and Bagheera, the
panther, teach him the Law of the Jungle. However, Shere Khan, the tiger, doesn’t like having a
child who will become a man living in the jungle, and wants to kill him. One day Mowgli is taken
prisoner by the monkeys who live in an abandoned city in the jungle. Baloo and Bagheera get
help from Kaa, the python, and rescue him. As Mowgli gets older he is in great danger from
Shere Khan. The one thing that all animals are afraid of is fire, so he goes to a nearby village and
steals a pot with fire in it. He uses the fire to fight Shere Khan, but he knows that he will have to
kill Shere Khan to be safe. As Mowgli gets older, the animals begin to realize that he can’t live
with them in the jungle when he is a grown man. He returns to the village where he is adopted
by a family. But Shere Khan finds him. This time Mowgli kills Shere Khan. But the villagers are
now afraid of Mowgli, so they chase him away and he returns to live in the jungle.

Detailed Analysis:
The title of the book evokes the feeling of adventure , excitement
and the discovery of a whole new world. Children are attracted towards nature and feel relaxed
in natural surroundings feeling themselves as a part of nature . The Jungle Book contains of
seven tales and they are all about life in the jungle, mostly with Mowgli as the main character.
The stories are about relationships, family, nature and living in society. These are important
aspects children and humans in general have to deal with all their life. They learn how to
behave towards others in certain situations, whom to trust and what friendship means -
fundamental values in our life.

Children, and adults, make sense of their world by creating a narrative of events that they
experience. Children also learn from the stories that they hear told and read by adults. So by
reading The Jungle Book the reader has the chance to observe Mowgli while doing his
experiences and learn with or without the help of an adult how he can adopt the story in real
life and gain huge experiences.
 The first chapter of the book is named as ‘’ Mowgli’s Brothers’’ which reflect
on the very idea of association . When a human being is born he needs someone to associate
with as he is biologically and psychologically equipped to live in groups and in society . We can
see that Kipling has started his started his story from the very idea of association and bonding .
The relationship of Mowgli with the pack of wolves in the beginning becomes a major factor in
the development of his personality .
Now Rann the Kite brings home the night
That Mang the Bat sets free—
The herds are shut in byre and hut
For loosed till dawn are we.
This is the hour of pride and power,
Talon and tush and claw.
Oh, hear the call!—Good hunting all
That keep the Jungle Law!
Night-Song in the Jungle
Kipling included night song in this chapter perhaps for the reader to feel harmony with the
jungle and to add some poetic quality to increase the impact of the story . The jungle book was
actually written for children so the addition of song might be for developing their interest right
from the beginning. The family life is depicted in the first chapter as for a child family is the
most important thing and a first source of interation in this world . It seems that Kipling is very
well aware of child psychology as the story moves progressively.
In this chapter there is a scene with Tabaqui, a golden jackal who is known as a
“dish- licker” because he feeds on the scraps from the wolves, Father Wolf and Mother Wolf.
Tabaqui tells that Shere Khan, a Bengal tiger and the antagonist of Mowgli shifted his hunting-
grounds and therefore will hunt among the hills where Father and Mother Wolf live. Father
Wolf becomes exasperated with this news and grouse “He has no right! By the Law of the
Jungle he has no right to change his quarters without due warning.”[2] This quote illustrates
children that animals as well as humans have to comply with the rules of the society they live
in, here the law of the jungle. Furthermore Father Wolf speaks of rights one has or has not; this
is another important aspect children have to learn.
Although the writer starts the story in a very soft tone but as
the story progresses it flows to create a wild atmosphere to show the instinctive nature of
animals . As the writer uses the word ‘’ madness’’ . The term madness is very broad so he has
specified it by relating it to animals , as if he knows the art of using context specific words .
Kipling reveals the power of the law of jungle as well as of those who break the law .
 The importance of the Pack is always emphasized and there is a
hierarchy that ensures decisions are made as a family. Each of the animals lives in their own
family and whatever the animal, when they get married and raise cubs of their own, they are
permitted to leave their pack or group. Loyalty to family is also paramount; at Mowgli's looking
over, Raksha prepares herself to fight until the death for him. Mowgli also demonstrates his
loyalty to Akela, his pack's leader and Lone Wolf, by leaving the jungle to protect him and later
by defending him and the entire Pack from the red dogs. Kipling also continues the theme of
family loyalty when Mowgli returns to Man and finds his pseudo-mother, whom he loves deeply
and desires to protect above all else.
Protection is a common thing done by a hero . In the habit of heroism a
hero will give protection to others especially to those who are weak . The weak need protection
, this becomes the duty of hero. When little Mowgli first comes to his cave being hunted by
Shere Khan , the lame tiger , Father wolf brings him to the cave . He has a pity on the little
Mowgli although he could kill him easily .
‘’ A Wolf accustomed to moving his own cubs can, if necessary,
mouth an egg without breaking it, and though Father Wolf’s
jaws closed right on the child’s back not a tooth even scratched

the skin as he laid it down among the cubs. ‘’

By giving this example of heroism the writer is trying to
present heroic ideal for children that can guide their behaviour in times of trouble . This kind of
protection is also given by mother wolf , giving Mowgli a comfortable place to stay with her
own cubs .
‘How little! How naked, and—how bold!’ said Mother Wolf softly.
The baby was pushing his way between the cubs to get close to the
warm hide. ‘Ahai! He is taking his meal with the others. And so this
is a man’s cub. Now, was there ever a wolf that could boast of a man’s
cub among her children?’

This is an expression of happiness as well as love and protection given

by mother wolf . Through the character of mother wolf Kipling is trying to illustrate the concept
that every individual needs motherly love . Love of mother for her children is also shown among
animals to reflect the importance of motherly affection and love . The power of nature is seen
in its full expression through the love of Mother Wolf . Kipling tries to neutralize the bad
connection usually applied to a wolf that wolf is a bad animal. According to Andrews (2002)
wolf is a symbol for companion or guardian . They are also symbol of loyality, faithfulness and
willing to do justice . Mother Wolf treats Mowgli like her own cubs . She gives her food and
warmth in order to make him feel comfortable .
The tiger’s roar filled the cave with thunder. Mother Wolf
shook herself clear of the cubs and sprang forward, her eyes
, like two green moons in the darkness, facing the blazing eyes
of Shere Khan.
The moment when tiger comes into the cave , the mother wolf
is already in defensive position . She does not want the youngster in the cave to become the
victim . Mother Wolf basically tries to protect her rights , children and residence . This shows
that nature has placed such power in all species to react everytime when someone stands
against their rights . One has to stand firm in order to secure his rights otherwise he is crushed
in a worst possible way .
‘O Akela, and ye the Free People,’ he purred, ‘I have
no right in your assembly, but the Law of the Jungle
says that if there is a doubt which is not a killing matter
in regard to a new cub, the life of that cub may be bought
at a price. And the Law does not say who may or may not
pay that price. Am I right?’
The defence given by Bagheera is most impressive offering the
council his newly killed bull for the price of Mowgli’s life . First Akela doesn’t seem to care
about Mowgli’s matter but then he makes his decision as he sees Father wolf and Mother wolf
showing deep concern for Mowgli’s life . Mowgli has also learned to defend his rights . He has a
right to live where he want to live . On one occasion Shere Khan succeeds to influence some of
the young wolves that Mowgli should be dumped from the pack and handed to him. When
Mowgli is challenged by him he prepares everything to defend his rights . He doesnot want to
be threatened by tiger.
He is ready to fight against young wolves . For this he goes to the
village to get red flower as it is the symbol of fear for all the inhabitants of the jungle . It seems
that Kipling is aware of the psyche of humans as well as animals . A strong character of Mowgli
is portrayed as he is well aware of the tactics of fighting that is to first know the weak point of
your enemy .
‘’There shall be no war between any of us in in the pack .But
there is a debt to pay before I go . He strode forward to where
 Shere Khan , the tiger sat blinking stupidly at the flames and
caught him by the tuft on his chin …. Mowgli then beat Shere Khan
over the head with the branch of red flower and the tiger whimpered
and whined in an agony of fear ‘’
Basically he cannot defeat Shere Khan but he has got something that is
not possessed by the tiger . He has a quality of defending his own rights . He tries to find an
effective weapon to fight the tiger . When his adopted parents are arrested by the villagers . He
is angry with the villagers. The conflict comes when the villagers doesnot agree with Father wolf
and Mother Wolf taking Mowgli as a child .
‘’ Strike then said Mowgli , in the dialect of the villagers , not
The talk of the jungle . Let us free my father and mother . I
don’t want something bad happen to them . They have rights
to adopt me . They are my parents and I owe them much . I
have to help them now though I have to risk my life ‘’
Mowgli’s defence quality is shown here . He tries to
defend the rights of his parents by protecting them . Mowgli asks his friends to go against the
villagers . He purposely uses the dialect of the villagers so that they know that what thay are
doing is totally wrong . Mowgli now comes to know thatfrontial fight cannot be avoided .
Mowgli is in dangerous position now. The fight is not in balance as Mowgli and his friends are
not plenty in number to fight the villagers.

‘’ The four pushed side by side . The outer wall bulged , split
and fell and the villagers, dumb with horror , saw the savage
clay – streaked heads of wreckersin the ragged gap. Then thay
fled houseless and foodless , down they valley as their village
shred and tossed and trampled , melted behind them.’’

A tremendous fight is held between mowgli and the

villagers . Mowgli is helped by elephants and some other animals . The elephants become so
wild in no time it is seen the Mowgli is already on the winning side . The village is completely
destroyed and the villagers have to run away , fear of being trampled by elephants . The
consequence of fight is terrible . All is lost and all is in mess .
 ‘’ But the work was practically done . When the villagers
looked in the morning , they saw their crops were lost.
That meant death , if they did not get away for they live in
year and out as near to starvation .’’
This shows that villagers now are edge of life convenience . Starvation is coming close to them.
They have got nothing left , all this is consequences of the fight . In a larger scale fight is a war
And as the whole village is destroyed then they could say that there is war between and his
friends with villagers .

‘’ We be on blood , thou and I Mowgli said to his adopted parents

I took my life from thee , Father and Mother . Without you of
both , I am of no meaning . My life is gone . I owe you much .I
must repay all my kindness . I know the world from thee and
I know the life is a conflict from thee too. Your lessons are great .
I grow up like this …. All because of you. Never in my life shall I
Forget thee all.’’

This is an expression of gratitude from Mowgli towards his parents .

Though he is a human boy but his parents never see him as someone different . They treat him
equally and love him so much that they are ready to die for him . They protect him as they
defend his right to live together with other wolves . As parents their love is purec and
immeasurable . The sacrifices and values parents impart in their children help in the personality
development . Mowgli also expresses his gratitude for his friends when time has come for him
to say good bye .

‘’ My dear friends actually I… I…I… am not willing to say good bye

to you all . But for my future this is to be done . I have to say thanks
to you all who have done great things to me during my stay here . I
don’t know how I could repay all your kindness . My thanks great and
 deep are for my dear brother , Hathi . He helped me much . He was
always on my side .’’

Its time for Mowgli to go back to his own community . He has known
where his community is now . But Mowgli doesnot leave his friens instantly without any words .
He express his great gratitude to all his friends . They are sad but they cannot do anything as it
is part of nature that all species are accustomed to live with the ones like them.
The imperialism of The Jungle Book is evidenced when we subject it to a
contrapuntal reading. The characters, the plot, the theme and the setting, all have multiple
imperialist orientations. In other words the imperialism evinced by the conduct of the
characters is reinforced and complemented by the setting and vice versa. It is because of this
formal and thematic interconnectedness that all the strands of imperialism tend to converge
as the narrative of the story steadily moves .
The monkey-king aspires to be like Mowgli a human being. He wants to get
rid of his ‘monkeying’ and live a human life. This can be read as an earnest longing on the part of
the disinherited and marginalized Indians to transform their lot and aspire for a better living. It
can also be read as a desire to have access to the imperial privileges available to the colonizers
only. To the monkey-king, human beings are superior as they can make use of fire
a unique human privilege which animals do not possess.
Literally as well as metaphorically, fire stands for power and light to which
only man has an exclusive claim: Man has fearsome powers of wisdom and fire over beasts. All
beasts fear fire, which perhaps represents the Promethean gift of technology. With human
wisdom comes human folly, both of which are characterized by excess over simple need. Man
wants to know more than he needs to know, and this unnecessary desire can lead him to folly.
Moreover, it is widely acknowledged that fire is the supreme source of civilization. Without fire,
there is no question of building a civilization. Therefore, the civilization signaled by the use of
fire can be metaphorically interlinked with the
 mission civilisatrice of the colonizers.
Hence the desire to use fire can be read as an urge to partake in the colonial
civilizing mission. The monkeys have no speech, no memory, no status, no decorum and no
law . This can be read as the speechlessness of the subalterns and the absence of memory
stands for a loss of continuity with the pasta temporal dislocation. Moreover, in the jungle
following
the ‘Law’is the measure of one’s dignity but here the ‘Law’ stands for British imperial law which the
mutinous (monkeys) tend to trample upon. The monkeys kidnap Mowgli which can be
paralleled to the kidnapping of the British officials and troops during the 1857 War of
Independence by the Indians which the British historians dub as the Mutiny.

Additionally, when the monkeys kidnap Mowgli, the latter is taken as an

agent of civilization who could rid the former of their uncouth ways and a wretched living. We
learn from the story that the monkeys do not have any positive attributes and they are deemed
in desperate need of civilization. This is how Baloo the bear warns Mowgli about the subversive
and outrageously thieving nature of monkeys: I have taught thee all the Law of the Jungle for all
the peoples of the jungle except the Monkey-Folk who live in the trees.
They have no law. They are outcasts. They have no speech of their own, but
use the stolen words which they overhear when they listen, and peep, and wait up above in the
branches. The wretched account of the monkeys can also be read as an utter marginalization
and wholesale stereotyping of the Indians who are considered to be unruly, loquacious,
irrational, pretentions, and problematic. Not only that monkeys are not to be mixed up with,
they are to be shunned at all cost. Another contrapuntal perspective warrants a slightly
different mode of appreciation i.e., monkeys stand not just for Indians but for humans at large.
In this way, the deleterious depiction of monkeys can also be read as a Swiftian satire on human
race, particularly the colored races.
Human stupidity is symbolized in the aimless gossiping of monkeys who
think that as they live in the top of the trees; therefore, they have a more authentic view of
things than other animals . The next interesting character is Bagheera the Indian leopard who
stands for the apologists of colonialism and his job is to intellectualize the imperial narrative
and to dole out pieces of advice whenever needed. He plays the part of Mowgli’s trusted friend
and mentor. Clever, crafty, courageous and wild, Bagheera can be taken as the powerful native
feudal lords who lent sustained support to the Raj.
This parallel is further reinforced when we come to know that when
Mowgli first arrives in the  jungle, it is Bagheera who launches a campaign to convince the other
animals to accept the man cubmaking the mastery of an alien more palatable to his fellow
animals. Just like the Indian feudal lords who turned out to be the footstools of the colonizers,
Bagheera teaches Mowgli such important techniques as hunting for food, climbing the tree tops
and locating the traps. Interestingly, he too warns Mowgli of socializing with the monkeys: Their
way is not our way. They are without leaders. They have no remembrance.
They boast and chatter and pretend that they are a great
people about to do great affairs in the jungle, but the falling of a nut turns their minds to
laughter and all is forgotten. We of the jungle have no dealings with them. We do not drink
where the monkeys drink; we do not go where the monkeys go; we do not hunt where they
hunt; we do not die where they die. Hast thou ever heard me speak of the Bandar-log till
today? The Shere Khan also occupies an important place among the characters of the jungle
and it is in his death that the violence of the story culminates. While going deep into the
storyline, we realize that the implacable hatred evinced by the Shere Khan against Mowgli can
have multiple layers of interpretations. Contrapuntally, it can be read as the hatred of the
‘uncouth’ and ‘resentful’ native Indians against their ‘civilized’ colonial masters.
The Shere Khan hates mankind, its depravity, its ways and,
above all, its much touted ‘civilization’. This symbolizes the overall attitude of the Indians
towards their colonial conquerors. His encounter with mankind is sudden, dramatic and fateful,
just as the Indians’ encounter with the British. The Shere Khan was previously the sole master
of the jungle whose mastery is now threatened by Mowgli. Similarly, the Indians were the
masters of India before it was occupied by the colonizers. All this turns the Shere Khan into a
comparatively good villain and gives us at least some reason to sympathize with him. There is
yet another contrapuntal extrapolation which is indicated by the surname Khanan honorific
traditionally bestowed upon Muslim notables, leaders and warriors. The surname Khan is also
used by Pashtuns. In this way, it is interesting find a parallel between the Shere Khan and the
Muslim warriors and notables, especially of the Pashtun origin
Mowgli, by overcoming Shere Khan, stands in the place of
the British imperial adventurer and restages the British consolidation of empire in India. This
jungle-child, youthful and energetic yet duly schooled in the codes of the Law, is the alien
liberator whose final victory signals the establishment of just rule in the place of an ostensibly
corrupt and decrepit Mughal dynasty. As the rebel Sepoys of 1857 looked to Bahadur Shah for
leadership, so, during a troubled period . . . restless young wolves rally around Shere Khan and
turn against Mowgli. Just as the British, in 1858, put an end to the symbolic kingship of Bahadur
Shah, so Mowgli puts an end to the lame tiger’s pretensions to power. As the British, after
1858, articulated a new imperial order . . . so Mowgli uses the
tiger’s splendid skin to symbolize his accession to the role of Master of the Jungle.
 
Strictly put, Mowgli inhabits two worlds (that of the jungle
and of the humans) without actually belonging to either. He is a man-cub among the  jungle
animals and an uncouth creature among the villagers he later joins. The frivolous and boyish
nature of Mowgli on the one hand and his higher calling to serve the Raj on the other hand
drives a wedge in his personality.

The Art Of Adaptation :

Telling a story into words and telling one on film is different . If the
reader wants the narrator to know something he may simply write it down but the task of
filmmaker is to show it in pictures. In order to be seen as a good adaptation, a film had to come
to terms with what was considered as the “spirit” of the book and to take into account all layers
of the book’s complexity.
An adaptation as interpretation does not have to capture all the
nuances of the book’s complexity, but it has to remain a work of art, an independent, coherent
and convincing creation with its own subtleties of meanings. In other words, it has to remain
faithful to the internal logic created by the new vision of the adapted work. Even if the
filmmakers’ reading of a given literary text clushes with our reading, we are willing to forgive all
the alterations when they spring from a well thought-out scheme and can lend a persuasive
new sense to the text.
The repetition must be, however, accompanied by creation, by a
reinvention of the familiar world and shaping it into something new. According to Hutcheon,
the real comfort lies in the experience of tensions between old and new, “in the simple act of
almost but not quite repeating, in the revisiting of a theme with variations”.10 Watching the
film that resonates with echoes of a well known world, that emerges from a confluence of
pleasurable memories and new ideas, is like prolonging the myth that lies at the origins of our
being and does not cease to intrigue us and give us force. The appeal of adaptations is
therefore rooted in the desire to witness a rebirth of this myth.
The different filmic versions of one single book are all manifestations
of the same wish to revisit “an old friend”. The power which attracts the filmmakers is the
desire to recreate and add some freshness to the familiar world. The power which draws the
audience to an adaptation is the possibility offered by the film to see and hear what they
imagined and learned to love in their own imagination, the wish to enter in a more sensual way
into the beloved world created by the book.
The complexity of a literary work represents a great challenge to
every reader because the world it evokes is an open-ended world that is left to be completed in
the process of reading. The readers create their own private ideas about this world by piecing
together fragmentary visions of both the directly articulated and indirectly suggested parts. An
adaptation invites the viewers to discuss not only the film itself but also their private readings
of the adapted text, for it gives them an opportunity to see how the cinematicly active readers
have responded to the book.
When we watch the film, our private form of filling in the gaps is
revitalized by the confrontation with the way another creative mind has filled in the same gaps.
We become part of an interpersonal artistic communication which is very rewarding because it
allows us to get insight into an artist’s creative mind and through this creative mind to the
literary work. This combines the pleasure in exploring the literary text through the lenses of an
artist with the pleasure in participating in the inner world of that artist.

Movie :
Mowgli : The Legend Of The Jungle
Detailed Analysis:

Mowgli- Legend of the Jungle, the latest adaptation of Kipling’s classic

tale, is a departure from its more child friendly predecessors. Directed by Andy Serkis, the film
boasts of a formidable cast of actors who have provided voice and motion capture movements,
and is designed to be more faithful to Kipling’s original stories which portrayed the brutality and
vulnerability of the jungle and those who lived in it. The basic premise remains the same. A
small human baby is found in the jungle after his parents are killed by the man-eating tiger Sher
Khan. A panther, Bagheera picks up the little boy and leaves him outside the cave of a wolf
family who decide to raise him as their own son, a child they name Mowgli.
Mowgli grows up like his wolf brothers in many ways;
running using all four limbs, eating his meat raw, getting lessons from Baloo hunting for animals
and practising for a running challenge that determine his future in jungle. As he gets older,
questions about his identity and his obvious physical differences start bothering him. When
Sher Khan returns and poses a threat to his life, Bagheera makes sure Mowgli is sent away to a
human settlement at the edge of the forest. But having grown in a jungle, Mowgli can’t really
belong amongst his race either. While his constant ‘otherness’ seems like a burden to him
initially, can this fluid identity become the need of the hour as man and beast struggle for
survival in a rapidly shrinking jungle?
Serkis’s adaptation, written by Callie Kloves, subverts the
image of the ‘exotic Indian jungle’ and snake charming brown people by making this tale real
and relevant. The movie opens with the death of Mowgli’s human parents, and we first see him
covered in their blood. There is no attempt at censoring what life in the jungle is really like -
dark, visceral and vulnerable. A telling scene is one where Mowgli swimming in a pond sees
Sher Khan approaching and hides underwater. We watch in horror and wonder as the blood
from the tiger’s jaw colours the water, and some errant air bubbles escape from Mowgli’s
mouth, almost giving him away.
Yet the ‘wild’ has its honour code that Mowgli has to
learn to live by. While Bagheera and Mowgli’s mother Nisha retain their familiar qualities,
characters like Baloo and Kaa who were previously portrayed as comic, are refreshingly
different in this film. Baloo is more kind-hearted drill sergeant training young wolves, while Kaa
(Cate Blanchett) is a wise all-knowing snake whose scales are brilliantly used in a scene as
mirrors or screens that offer glimpses of the past and the future.
Though the story is set in the last century, issues of shrinking animal
habitats, poaching, and the dangers that man and beast pose to each other are all woven into
the narrative. While the film piques our curiosity of how a human child will survive among
animals, it also raises questions that people around the world are struggling to answer today.
Questions of belonging, identity, and creating homes amongst people who are not necessarily
your own.
In many ways Mowgli is a refugee, a child escaping death who finds a home
and love. But there are those who never allow him to forget that he is an ‘outsider’ who can
never really belong. As the hyena says to him with uncharacteristic depth, “I wake up and
believe I’m a tiger, but I will always be a hyena”.
There is also a subplot involving an unwanted albino wolf cub called
Bhoot whose story is a poignant parallel to Mowgli’s. Bhoot’s tragic fate serves as timely
reminder to the boy that he cannot be truly at home with the humans while they pose a threat
to his beloved jungle. Whether or not he will be able to bridge the gap and bring peace to both
man and beast is left unanswered, possibly hinting at a sequel in the future.
The beauty and continued interest in The Jungle Book probably comes
from the fact that it’s not just a survival of the fittest tale. The effects work and motion capture
are excellent. The book starts with the wolf pack finding Mowgli. The film skips back to this
scene a little further into the story but shows Bagheera bringing Mowgli to the wolves.In the
book, according to the Law, two non-related animals must vouch for a cub being accepted into
the pack. Baloo steps in and says he will teach the child the Laws of the Jungle, and Bagheera
says he will vouch for him, too. In the film, Baloo is not involved and Bagheera trains Mowgli
the ways of the wolf .
In the book, Mowgli is a toddler and remembers some of his time amongst man,
whereas he is much younger in the film and remembers nothing of his parents.In the book,
Mowgli is naked throughout, until he is forced to wear a loincloth when he goes to the man
village. Obviously, he wears a loincloth throughout the film. The wolf pack has a much bigger
role in the book, although this latest adaptation does show more of Mowgli’s relationship with
his brothers than the Disney version. In the book, several of the wolves remain with Mowgli
throughout his life in the jungle and often visit him in the man village.
There’s a great story in the book where Bagheera tells Mowgli that he
was born in a cage in the King’s palace which he managed to escape from, and he still has the
mark of the human collar he wore. The film does not include any of Bagheera’s past. Instead of
teaching Mowgli the “bare necessities” of eating and sleeping, in the book, Baloo teaches
Mowgli about the Laws of the Jungle, and hits him on the head if he gets anything wrong.
 As well as Kaa being a male character in the book, he also has
a much bigger role and even becomes close companions with Mowgli. Kaa actually saves
Mowgli’s life a number of times and goes with Bagheera and Baloo to save him from the
monkeys, as he is the only one the monkeys are truly afraid of. There’s also a scene in the book
where Kaa helps Mowgli find some rare treasure from a white cobra, and where Kaa helps
Mowgli attack a pack of hunting dogs who are threatening the wolf pack, by setting a swarm of
vicious bees on them. Instead of having hypnotic eyes, as well, Kaa does a hypnotic dance, in
the book, which Mowgli is the only one immune to.
There is no King Louie in the book. Instead, Mowgli is
kidnapped by a community of monkeys known as the Bandar Log, who Mowgli has been
confiding in, but they have no leader. They still live in the Cold Lairs ruins but, instead of making
fire, they want him to teach them how to make huts to shelter from the wind. We see Shere
Khan talking to some of the younger wolves in the film but, in the book, he is successful in
manipulating some of the younger wolves to help him cast Mowgli out.
In the book, Mowgli goes to live in the man village
twice and stays there for a lengthy period of time. The first time, after his first scrap with Shere
Khan and aged about ten, he lives as a cattle driver with a woman called Messua. She may or
may not be his real mother, but she adopts him as her own and reveals that his real name was
Nathoo. The second time, at the age of seventeen, Mowgli comes to the conclusion that he
must rejoin men after Akela has died, Baloo has nearly gone blind and Bagheera is more
decrepit. This time, Mowgli finally stays for good, but he stays out of choice, not because he has
been told that it is the right thing to do.
Mowgli also has two fights with Shere Khan, in the book. The
second time is after he has been living in the man village and, with the help of the wolves, they
cause a herd of buffalo to crush Shere Khan to death. In the film, Shere Khan dies in the fire
Mowgli has created. Although Mowgli does steal some fire from the man village to warn off
Shere Khan, the fire does not spread throughout the jungle as it does in the film.

Hindi Dubbed Version :

Detailed Analysis: